Case studies

To date, there are approximately 75 active teaching partnerships with higher learning institutions all over the world, serving more than 1,000 international students annually. There are study abroad and exchange agreements with over 250 Universities in 40 countries.

Apart from maintaining and increasing partnership agreements with our existing partners, we aim to forge partnerships in both key priority markets and non –traditional markets. Teaching partnerships take many forms from joint and dual PhD awards, articulation and progression arrangements to courses that are taught overseas by our Nottingham academics (sometimes called flying faculty programmes). Study abroad and exchange agreements may- exist through mutual agreements between institutions, or more widely under group partnerships such as Universitas 21.

Nottingham has worked actively in international collaborations and exchanges for nearly two decades. We believe our expertise, track record and dedication to internationalisation make us an ideal academic partner for overseas institutions.

The University and Nottingham and Thammasat University in Thailand have just celebrated 20 years working together in Engineering. This partnership gives students the ability to complete a dual degree with two years in Thailand and two years at Nottingham.

Attracting over 40 students per year across all the Engineering disciplines this partnership continues to enrich both the lives and the global experiences of the students and staff involved.

Forging new horizons with Lund University, Sweden

The University of Nottingham and Lund University in Sweden have been working closely together for a number of years creating world-leading research projects, attracting research funding and publishing together.

The relationship has involved joint investment from both partners; joint training initiatives, as well as staff and student exchange.

The Leading Global Network of Research Universities

The University of Nottingham is proud to be one of the founder members of Universitas 21 (U21), the leading international network of research-intensive universities. Through the U21 network we are actively engaged in a range of collaborative activities with like-minded universities around the world. This enables us to encourage greater levels of student and staff mobility; develop deeper links with prestigious international partners, and pursue joint research on a truly global stage.

The Universitas 21 network supports staff and students in many activities at the University of Nottingham.

Strengthening links with the University of Cape Town, South Africa

We have been proud partners of the University of Cape Town since 2013, when a generous donor to the university offered scholarships for South African students visiting Nottingham for a semester of study. This philanthropic link allowed the universities to create a new partnership for student exchange and extended our study abroad destinations.

The University of Nottingham then applied for further funding for this partnership through the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility funding scheme in 2015, and were successful in securing both staff and student exchange funding. Due to protests on campus in 2015 and 2016, the universities struggled to send students on exchange, but with Erasmus+ funding we initiated a series of staff exchanges in 2017 to strengthen our partnerships and to share best practice in each institution. These successful staff exchanges are supporting future student exchanges and have deepened the relationship between staff members and the institution more broadly, demonstrating the need for strong partnerships to be at all levels within the institution in order to create a sustainable relationship.

Since 2011, the University of Nottingham and Universität Konstanz have worked together to create two-year dual master’s degree programmes in International Relations and in Economics. 10 students are registered on this programme and students spend one year at Nottingham and one year at Konstanz. This partnership gives students the opportunity to gain a master’s degree from two world-class institutions and enhances their global experience.

Nottingham and Konstanz also have a successful Erasmus+ exchange partnership for undergraduate students within the fields of Politics and International Relations and Sociology, giving both incoming and outgoing exchange students the opportunity to enrich their degree programmes by spending part of their degree overseas.